Problem: Add. $3.53 + 4.72=$
Solution: There are many ways to solve this problem. Let's see two ways we can solve it. Place value table Let's line up the numbers by their decimal places. Ones $.$ Tenths Hundredths ${3}$ $.$ ${5}$ $3$ $4$ $.$ ${7}$ $2$ Now, let's add each place value column. Ones $.$ Tenths Hundredths $\overset{1}{{3}}$ $.$ ${{5}}$ $3$ $+$ $4$ $.$ ${7}$ $2$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $8$ $.$ $2$ $5$ Decomposing the numbers We can group the whole numbers together and the decimals together. $\begin{aligned} &({3}+ {4}) + ({0.53} + {0.72})\\\\ &=7+ {1.25}\\\\ &=8.25 \end{aligned}$ $3.53 + 4.72=8.25$